The invention relates to a method for the computer-assisted determination of a control variable using context information from one or more units to be controlled and to a controller embodied for implementing the method.
A problem is described below with the aid of communication networks. This only takes place for the purpose of illustration and is however not to be considered as restrictive.
In communication networks, context information is used increasingly for controlling the communication network. Context information represents any information which was generated by any unit in the communication network (e.g. terminal, an access computer, a switching computer etc.) in conjunction with an event. A unit, which generates context information and makes other components of the communication network available, is also referred to as a context source or source. The use of context information enables the state or status of a network element, also known as unit, to be determined without the explicit exchange of signaling messages across the communication network for instance. As a result, the number of messages, which usually have to be exchanged in conjunction with the controller of the communication network, can be reduced. The result is therefore a stronger scalable architecture of the communication network. Furthermore, the purpose of network activities can be derived from context information, as a result of which the controller of the communication network can take place proactively. As a result, problems can be dealt with before they actually occur for instance.
The control of a communication network using context information is essentially associated with two disadvantages:
1. There is a delay between the source of the context and a unit of the communication network processing the context information. This is usually caused by the transmission of context information from the source to the processing unit of the communication network. This means that the unit processing the context information contains the information contained in the context information relating to the source and the transmitted components with content which is not current. In the meantime, this is hugely disadvantageous for conventional, highly dynamic communication networks.
2. In a communication network, the bandwidth available for the transmission of data is a resource to be used carefully. This relates in particular to communication networks, which wirelessly transmit the data. There is essentially the need to use the available bandwidth as far as possible for the user data and not for the control data. Context information provided by a source, which is used for the controller and the management of the communication network, falls within the category of control information. As a result of this, the transmission of context information in a communication network is to be minimal in order to ensure an efficient use of the bandwidth.